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Young people

Young people

The Museum offers many exciting opportunities for young people who would like to get involved. We work closely with schools, youth organisations and individuals to co-curate the activities in both the Museum space, and with the wider community. If you would like to know more, please contact the young people’s co-ordinator at the Museum.

Pitt Youth Action Team

The Pitt Youth Action Team are a group of like-minded young people – typically aged between 16 and 19) – who meet at the Museum once a month. They are offered opportunities to have a real impact on the way the Museum interprets its collections, usually going behind the scenes to advise and consult with staff over exhibition materials, run activities at public events and plan projects.

Kick Arts

Kick Arts is an innovative flexi-school model for 11- to 16-year-olds who are school refusers or at risk of exclusion. It is a 15-week programme, which we are delivering in partnership with OYAP Trust. A flexi-school model is a school day which has timetabled sessions out of the classroom. It is a new model which allows learners to benefit from different learning environments such as museums during these times in the school day’The programme ran for two years funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund; since 2018 it has continued after this funding ended.

The programme uses the creativity and irresistible qualities of the arts to improve young people’s attitudes to and relationships with learning. We invite artist educators with special talents and experience of working with disengaged young people to lead and inspire learning through a variety of art forms, from young slam poets, to photographers, filmmakers, musicians, makers and visual artists. The Kick Arts programme also feeds young people into our other offerings for young people, including the Pitt Youth Action Team.

The programme relies on bringing in young artists to help support the sessions, and we welcome anyone interested in volunteering under this role to get in touch. Young artists are typically aged 18–25 and looking to kick start their career in the arts.

The Kick Arts programme runs annually from January. Admissions are managed through our partner organisation, OYAP, from September. If you would like to enquire about joining our Kick Arts programme, or referring a young person, please ring 01869 602 560 or email kelly.smith@prm.ox.ac.uk.

Re:Make

This is a ten-week Saturday course offered to local young people between 14 and 16 years old. It runs once a year, and involves young people getting hands on creative with some of the Museum's handling collection. Young people learn about an object, and then remake it in any number of art forms. The session is run by practising artists who offer advice and challenge the young people to think differently about objects. At the end of the course, young people get to enter for a Explore Arts Award. This is a feeder programme into the Pitt Youth Action Team. Register your interest for the next cohort by emailing kelly.smith@prm.ox.ac.uk.

Open Art Competition

This is a biannual open competition for schools in Oxfordshire. Students can upload images of artworks, created in response to their visits in the Museum. Images will be viewable to the public on Instagram. Each competition will have a set theme, and the winning applicants and runners-up will have their artwork displayed as part of an exhibition in the Museum, plus a £100 prize. Applications have to be supported by a statement from their affiliated school. The terms and conditions for the competition can be viewed here. The competition runs from September to May, with the exhibition opening from July for a year.

Think we've missed something? If you are aged between 14 and 19, and feel that we should be offering something else for local young people, get in touch and tell us. We are always open to new ideas and opportunities to create a vibrant and dynamic museum ethos. Please email kelly.smith@prm.ox.ac.uk

Want to know more about learning at the Museum, including taught sessions for primary schools, secondary schools and adult groups?